Police Officer Responding To A 999 Call About A Baby Jailed After Fatal Crash

A police officer who struck and killed a 74-year-old woman while responding to an emergency 999 call about a choking baby has been sentenced to prison.

PC Mark Roberts drove through a red light during the response, colliding with a motorbike carrying Ronald and Muriel Pinkney. Mrs Pinkney, who was a passenger, suffered fatal head and neck injuries in the crash, which occurred in July 2022 on a 30mph road near the MetroCentre in Gateshead.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct reported that Roberts was travelling at 43mph as he approached the lights, which had been red for six seconds, and was still moving at 25 mph when the collision happened.

The 57-year-old officer, from Darlington, County Durham, was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving, as well as causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Mr Pinkney, who suffered a brain bleed and multiple fractures.

In a statement read in court, the couple's daughter, Dawn Hunter-Pinkney, said the family did not blame the officer. "For a long time we were angry, but the more we have learned about the circumstances, the more we understand," she said.

Despite this, Judge Francis Laird KC sentenced Roberts to 27 months in prison at Teesside Crown Court, stating that only a custodial sentence was appropriate for the offences.

The Johnson Partnership, Nottingham